Where the Heart Is
by 4rekid
Summary: Something told him, in the back of his mind, to not continue seeing him. To just walk away and live his life in peace. But he couldn't. He had invaded his life and thoughts and he had no army to fight the man back.


**Hello, and welcome! This here is my first submitted Hetalia fic, and I have to say that is the best one I've started! Though of course that isn't saying much since I've scrapped about five before this one. But I digress! On with the story.**

"Artie, Artie, hey Artie!" Alfred shook his brother from slumber, standing on his tip-toes to reach. The young man groaned, almost rolling off the bed and onto the five-year-old. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and turned his head to the child.

"What?" Arthur growled, causing Alfred to grin.

"it's 6:47, almost time for school!" Blast, Arthur had forgotten. He groaned as he lifted his upper body off the comfortable bed, and threw his legs over the side. He slowly dressed, then sluggishly moved to help Alfred get his clothes on.

As expected, Alfred was excited for his first day of school. He moved about with an energy not suited for so early in the day, gathering his things and messing with his hair. Arthur watched his little brother move about as he set water to boil for his morning tea; he wasn't one for coffee; and stepped outside for the paper. Turning straight to the wanted ads, he glanced through them as he poured cereal out for Alfred. None of the positions could work with his busy college schedule. With a 'tsk' he folded the paper neatly, tossing it on the granite kitchen counter. Shaking his head in befuddled amusement, he placed the bowl of cereal in front of the jumping child.

Now it was Arthur's turn for last minute preparations. He hopped into his shower, jumping right in, not caring that the water was frigid. He didn't bother using shampoo, it wasn't like it would change a thing with his naturally mussed hair. He shut off the water, dried himself and pulled a t-shirt over his head. He placed his laptop securely in his leather satchel, along with his textbooks and essay papers, and threw the strap over his shoulder.

"Come on, Alfred!" His little brother scrambled into the kitchen, his backpack slung over a single shoulder, with a huge smile on his face. Arthur ruffled his hair; trying at the same time to smooth down the stubborn, ever-present cowlick; and grabbed his mug of tea and car keys, leading Alfred into the garage.

Francis shuffled around his kitchen, mixing pancake batter and listening to the radio. He poured out the contents of his bowl, shaping the batter into little creatures. Francis turned at a creaking sound on the steps. He smiled as Francis spotted his son, the boy rubbing his eyes and clutching his stuffed polar bear Kumajiro to his chest. Francis leant to kiss his forehead, and the boy smiled wistfully.

"Good morning, Papa"

"Good morning, Mathieu" Matthew pulled himself onto a chair and Francis set a plate of fluffy, delicious smelling pancakes and a full bottle of maple syrup in front of him. Francis cut the food into bite-sized pieces, and got himself his own plate as Matthew doused his pancakes in maple syrup. The two chattered about their plans for the day; Matthew about school, and Francis about his job at the local bakery.

Francis quietly sang in French as he helped Matthew dress, and brushed out the boy's golden locks. Francis left his son reading a picture book, and hurried upstairs to get dressed. Even with his extremely messy job as head baker, Francis always dressed to impress, and today was no different. He pulled a rose red cashmere turtleneck over his head, then slipped on a pair of black jeans that were just snug enough to show off his body. Tugging on some black leather shoes, he glanced at his hair in the mirror. It was starting to grow long, and would probably need to be cut soon. Shrugging, he grabbed a black silk ribbon from his bedside table, and tied his hair back.

Mr. Romulus Vargas clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the group of talking children to him.

"Settle down, children! It's time for art! Go grab somebody, and take turns painting the other. So pick a partner and get started!" The large man gestured to the neatly placed paints, brushes, and canvases on the table next to him. The children scrambled, grabbing their friends from preschool or their neighborhoods. Matthew stood awkwardly, he wasn't very good at social situations, even though he had met many people in his short life, the only one he was able to talk to was his father.

He jumped when he felt a light tap on his shoulder, and turned to a pair of wide blue eyes and a blinding grin.

"You wanna be partners?" The boy asked. Matthew blushed nervously.

"O-oui." The other's eyebrows pushed upward, and he cocked his head in confusion.

"You have to go wee?" He questioned in confusion. Matthew's face grew even hotter and warmer.

"No! I-it's French. It means yes." His mouth formed a circle, then into a broad smile.

"Dude, that's cool! Where did you learn that?" He moved over to the supplies, picking up a set of brushes and paints, handing them to Matthew as they walked.

"My papa is from France."

"That's awesome! My big brother is from England" He laughed a little. "But that's not as cool as France! How about you go first?" Matthew nodded, and looked down at the canvas, when a thought burst through his mind.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "What's your name? I'm Matthew Bonnefoy, by the way" The boy, now posing in quite the ridiculous manner, smirked, and placed a hand on his chest pompously.

"I'm Alfred F. Jones, the hero!" Matthew smiled slightly to himself at Alfred's energy. They talked about their families as they painted. Well, mostly Alfred yammered on about his family's great military accomplishments and heroics, with Matthew adding in a comment here and there.

Arthur searched around the campus parking lot, his eyes narrowed and brows together in concentration. Alfred had made him later than usual, so all the good spots had been taken. Maybe Gilbert could drop him off instead. It wasn't like it would much of a hindrance, seeing Ludwig went to the same school. Sighing through his nose, he pulled his father's rundown pickup in to a spot near the teacher's offices. He glanced at his watch, and nearly choked on his heart when he saw he had only five minutes to get to class. Professor Wang would not be happy. He quickly grabbed his bag, and ran like the dickens.

Arthur burst through the lecture hall's door just before Wang took up his position behind the podium. The Asian man gave him a slightly amused look, causing Arthur to scowl as he took his usual seat near the back. He swiftly took out his laptop and paper, his pen raised to take notes. Professor Wang went into his speech about the opium wars, a subject which he seemed very enthusiastic about. Arthur watched him hop around, bringing out a map, and Arthur zoned out momentarily as he browsed through several job search sites.

He really needed to get a part time job. He wasn't one for manual labor, so construction was out. And he was way over qualified to work at some fast food joint or be a cashier. A jolt went through his body as he got an idea. He could be a tutor!

He brought his forehead to the table and groaned as a realization hit him. he didn't know anyone to tutor. Ludwig sure didn't need any help, and that was the only kid he knew other than Alfred. So much for that idea.

Francis waved at his co-worker as he walked to the back of the bakery.

"Hello Antonio." He called out. His eyes scanned the large workspace, and grabbed a cake to be iced.

"Morning" The Spaniard replied in his slight accent. "We got a couple more wedding cakes on order, so you should probably start after that one ."Francis nodded an affirmative, and finished a small flower on the cake before him.

"I'm done with this one. Mind giving me the orders and bringing this to the counter? The couple is supposed to pick it up around noon" Antonio took the cake from Francis' hands, and slid it in the glass case next to the rounded granite counter. He took out three slips of paper from his apron and handed them over.

"Seems as though everyone in town is getting married" Antonio mused, leaning against the counter. "I think we've had 10 wedding cakes this week alone" Francis shrugged as he whisked batter. He brushed his finger along the batter and licked it, and then poured it into the cake mold.

"Speaking of, weren't you gonna propose to that Belgian girl?" Antonio jumped, and brought a hand to his face as he turned away, blushing.

"well..." Francis raised an eyebrow. "I decided to..ah..wait a while longer before asking."

"Is everything alright with you two?"

"Yes." Antonio quickly changed the subject" What about you? Anybody new to mess around with?"

"Sadly no, I've been far too busy with Matthew to go out." He thought for a moment as he closed the oven door. "I don't think I've gotten laid in over two months." Antonio let out a hearty laugh.

"Well this must be some kind of miracle, amigo! You actually haven't gotten any!" He laughed again. Their conversation came to a close as a family came in through the door, the small bell on the handle tinkling.

"Arthur, you want to go get some lunch?" Arthur looked up from his English textbook at the call of his name. He spotted Wang jogging up to him, who came to a stop in front of him and smiled.

"Sure." He replied. "The usual place?" Wang nodded. "Okay, I just have to drop my bag off."

10 minutes later the two were sitting at a Japanese restaurant that Yao's brother owned, cups of tea in their hands. Kiku, Yao's aforementioned brother, came and quickly took their orders; Yao getting his usual sushi platter, and Arthur a simple bowl of ramen topped with an egg.

"So, how have you been, Arthur?" Yao asked, bringing his cup up to his lips.

"I've been fine. Looking for a job is such a pain though." Yao nodded understandingly, then gasped in exclamation.

"That's right, I have this friend who's kid needs a little help with English. And you, being the prissy little Englishman you are, would be the perfect candidate to help." Arthur chose to ignore the easily spoken insult, and hummed thoughtfully. "I can call him later and see if we can get together sometime and discuss it."

"Yes, Yao, that sounds wonderful."

Alfred burst through the door as soon as Arthur turned his key, unlocking it with a click. Arthur shook his head in disbelief as the boy zoomed around the living room, his arms up as he made airplane noises. He slipped off his shoes and called Alfred over to do the same. He picked up Alfred, who giggled and wrapped his arms around his brother's neck. Arthur sniffed Alfred and made an exaggerated face of disgust.

"You smell! Time for you to take a bath." Alfred squealed and smashed Arthur's cheeks in his hands.

"No! I wanna play!" Arthur stuck his tongue out at the child, who copied him.

"After your bath, Alfie." Alfred pouted but pushed himself out of Arthur's hold, and ran towards the tub, pulling off his clothes and leaving them in the hall. Arthur followed after, picking up the discarded garments and folding them neatly, until he heard the tell-tale chime of Yao's ringtone coming from his cell. Placing Alfred's clothes on a nearby shelf, he shouted at the boy to start running the bath water and answered his phone.

"Hello Yao." He greeted.

"You know that tutoring job I told you about?"

"Yes, it was only this afternoon." Arthur could practically see his professor rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, he asked if I could introduce you two this weekend, since he has to work all week."

"Well that sounds perfectly fine to me. Ah! I'll have to bring Alfred with me though, I don't want to leave him alone and Gilbert's going on a camping trip with his grandfather."

"I don't think he'll mind. He mentioned that he had to bring his kid too, so I guess they can keep each other's attention."

"ARTHUR!" Alfred called from the bath. "IT'S FULL!"

"Well, I better go before he floods the house, I'll call you back Yao." They said quick goodbyes before he rushed off, and plopped Alfred in the water.

The week passed quickly, and before he knew it, Arthur was in front of a small cafe downtown, his hand clutching Alfred's as the boy gazed around him in awe. He pushed the door open, and caught Yao waving at him from a small table next to an open window overlooking a small creek. He slowly walked over, his eyes on the back of the two blonde heads that sat across from Yao. Yao stood up from the table to greet Arthur as they neared.

"Arthur, this is my friend, Francis Bonnefoy."

**I literally have no idea where I'm going with this. Well, maybe a little. But not much. I will probably get around to updating every other week or so at best, because I'm currently working on a collaboration fic that is in desperate need of updates. **

**So review if you want, and I'll post the next chapter when I can!  
**

**4re  
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